The Ties That Bind
by DarkFlame136
Summary: I wasn't sure what genre this one was, since it's kinda adventuremysterysuspense. Basically, three friends end up on Gaea in different places at the wrong time. One of them is Hitomi. The other two? Depending on their choices, the world will be saved or d
1. Chapter I

Something i started over a year ago. Hope you like, and give feedback (like, don't like, etc.); everything (is supposed to) fit(s) together, so ch.1 will make sense. Eventually. =^_^= DarkFlame136  
  
One  
BANG! BANG! BANG!  
  
I turned over groggily towards the sound. Seconds passed without event. I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head, burying myself under the sheets. Sadly, the silence did not last long.  
  
BANG! BANG! BANG! "Artemis! Unless you're dead, answer me!"  
  
'One of us is going to die if you don't give it a rest' I thought with a yawn while digging myself out from my shelter. I got out of bed to open the door (and his skull while I was at it)--  
  
--and tripped over the sheets. I had not realized how entangled my legs were in them until I was pitched forward with my arms flailing. Something told me Dilandau wasn't going to be the only person in my face; that loud 'thud!' I made from colliding with the floor must have been heard TWO floors below mine.  
  
"Shit, it's too early." I groaned.  
  
"You've only slept for half the day."  
  
I sat up, fully awake and slightly peeved. "How--?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. "I have the code to almost every room on this ship, remember?"  
  
"Well, la-de-fucking da!" I sneered, making a face. I absolutely detested people waking me up! And I still do, for that matter, because I'm not a morning person. Any time before three pm on an off-day is when you need to avoid me: I'm either:  
  
A.) asleep B.) wishing I was asleep or C.) extremely cranky  
  
At that time, I was both b and c.  
  
I was also extremely reckless, since I don't give a damn when I'm really tired and riding on three or so hours of sleep, give or take.  
  
Unfortunately, I wasn't the only person who was in a fowl mood. Noticing the look of rage on the face of the youth in front of me, I commented, " 'looks like you're not a morning person, either."  
  
He calmed down. A little. "Some of us get up before noon. Did you finish those calculations yet?"  
  
I began untangling myself. "A few hours ago. They're on a disk; I'm assuming it's compatible. If not, I'll work with it, or let Count Dracula tinker with it a bit. Whatever."  
  
Surprisingly, he smiled. "How many names do you have for Folken? Wait- -you said you finished a few hours ago."  
  
"Dilandau, you know once I get my hands on something like that I don't quit until I'm finished or stark raving mad," I stood up and threw the sheets back on the bed, unceremoniously throwing myself in the same direction. "It's all on the blue one on the table; I'm done with the folder, too. What are you staring at?"  
  
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that red flush on his face was from embarrassment and not too much morning wine. Too bad I don't. I sighed. "Like you've never seen a chick in a strap top and pants."  
  
He walked over to the table to collect the data, not saying anything until he was ready to leave. Finally:  
  
"You can do what you like until dinner. Then you're back on my schedule."  
  
"Fine. By the way.why did YOU come bug me instead of one of your lackeys?"  
  
"I don't know what you did last time, but Miguel refuses to go anywhere near you before you wake up, and he somehow managed to convince everyone else of the same."  
  
I laughed. "Oops. I said I was sorry! Besides, I would not have grabbed him if he didn't hold my nose shut!"  
  
"He claimed you tried to strangle him."  
  
"I suppose I grabbed his throat."  
  
"Autumn.just.try to be on time. No excuses."  
  
I threw one of the smaller pillows at him. "Just get out so I can go back to sleep. I'll even change for once for the sake of formality."  
  
He caught the pillow. "You'll have to. You're coming along with the rest of us to pick up a few things."  
  
"Oh." Actually, it was more of a grunt; I had already made myself comfortable. In fact, I was almost back in dreamland.only to be jerked back to reality with a blow to the head. "Are you even listening?!"  
  
"What the hell is your problem this time?" I shot up, ready for a fight if it came.  
  
Dilandau's eyes flashed. However, instead of exploding, he just growled and left. Fine with me; he was NOT the only one around here with a bad temper, and they just replaced the set of windows in the dining hall that got blasted out the other day.  
  
If I were him, I'd be afraid of me, too. 


	2. Chapter II, part i

A small note on this one: i divided chapter two into different parts, since all of it is part of what happened before chapter one. it's also written in third person; i did it on purpose, so don't flame me for switching tenses and screwing with your heads (lol; j/k. about the screwing with your heads part, anywho ;p )

DarkFlame136

Two

I bet you're wondering what the hell is going on. So was I after I woke up on this wacky-ass planet a day or two ago, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Time for a flashback, peoples:

******************************************************************************

i.

The three girls were sitting on the benches in the schoolyard. Classes had been over since 15 minutes ago, but they usually hung out for a while. Both Hitomi and Artemis seemed lost in their own thoughts. The latter was stretched out across from Hitomi gazing at the sky through the trees, while the other was staring towards the track. Kaoré , however, was absorbed in polishing one of her larger knives with her uniform jacket. The was she angled the blade caused it to catch the sun's rays and reflect them off to the side--right in the direction of Artemis' face.

She frowned. "Kaoré , unless you're trying to give me a cataract or two, could you PLEASE put that away?"

"Gomen, Autumn," she flipped it up her sleeve faster than the eye could follow. Faster than normal eyes, anyway. She gestured towards Hitomi. "What's with her? She's spacing out a lot these days."

"Something's going to happen. I don't know what or when, though," Hitomi said in a detached voice.

"Hopefully I'll get that pay-raise," Kaoré dreamed.

Artemis rolled her eyes and sat up. "Hey, Kanzake, what's up?"

Hitomi, visibly startled, managed to stammer the reply, "What? Nothing!"

Kaoré looked her in the face. A few seconds later, she said, "I still think he's a prep."

"Amano-sempai is NOT a prep!"

"Actually, he's kinda nice," Artemis pointed out.

Kaoré sniffed. "When he's not being a prep…"

"Don't you have to be at work, Vari?" Hitomi asked a little too pointedly.

"I'm driving. I have a few more minutes to kill. Do either of you want a ride home?"

Hitomi paused. "Well…we both have practice, and I think mine's going to run past five."

"I have my 'blades. I'll skate home," Artemis shrugged.

Kaoré winced. "I don't see how you can even THINK of more exercise after all of those drills. Just give me a call when you pull a muscle or something."

"Or throw up from all those aerial maneuvers," Hitomi laughed.

"That's ok; I think I'll go watch you hyperventilate if we get finished early," Artemis got up; the other two did as well.

They stood staring at each other. None of them thought too much of it, but each felt as if would be a while before she saw even one of the other two.

Hitomi broke the silence. "Until next time?"

"Assuming Kaoré doesn't get arrested for carrying those knives!" Artemis joked to break the tension.

"As if you don't carry any on you," she smiled. Her eyes, though, were troubled. 'Why do I feel so uneasy?' she wondered.

"I still don't see why you need them," Hitomi shook her head. "I'm surprised neither of you has been caught with those."

Artemis and Kaoré exchanged a quick look. "Emergencies."

"And families with odd hobbies," Kaoré added. "See you later, Hitomi. Artemis." She starred towards the parking lot after hugging them both.

Left by themselves, all they could do was stare.

*What do you…?!* Artemis spoke privately to Hitomi.

*I don't know. She almost NEVER calls you that* "Whatever's going on," she said out loud, "we both need to get going. Good luck with gymnastics, Autumn."

"Thanks, but it's just practice. Well, Buena suerte con corrido." Seeing Hitomi's confused gaze, she laughed. "I said 'good luck with running, track', whatever. And…tell Amano-sempai and Kaorichan I said 'hi'. Almost as an afterthought, both girls hugged each other. It was similar to Kaoré 's embrace, but with something else added to the "be careful" and "see you later".

Though neither would admit it until much later, the last thing Hitomi and Artemis communicated to each other was "I'll miss you." 


	3. Chapter II, part ii

Ii.

Lord Dilandau was, to say the least, very put out with these recent developments. He even said as much to Lord Folken as soon as they left the room. The latter, used to the younger one's outbursts, knew that what else he was planning on saying in response to the delay would be nothing less than expected. 'Very well, then.' Folken thought with a sigh. 'Let's get it over with.'

"I know they're old enough to be senile, but with age comes wisdom."

The young soldier opened his mouth to make the expected explosion, but he changed his mind, letting what he just heard sink in. Apparently, he didn't expect Folken to throw that curve. 'Hmn. I thought he was going to say something like, 'Legends are based on truth, and I don't want you to lose your remaining sanity!' Dilandau laughed to himself. 'We'll see who the real fools are soon enough!' 

Folken was a bit surprised at his hesitation, but at least he wasn't bitching. He did not feel like arguing with Dilandau at the moment, so the silence was quite the blessing to the headache he had been nursing for the past hour and a half. Personally, he was glad they would have to postpone their current mission.

"I'm going to my room," he informed the youth, "Don't get into anything while I'm gone."

Dilandau made a face. 'What is he going to do? Sneak out of his window or something?' "And if I DO need you for some reason…?"

Folken paused before turning down a corridor. "Scream." He didn't even look back before going on his way, leaving Dilandau to figure that one out on his own. In his opinion, he didn't think he would. Not for another hour, anyway. His headache should be gone by that time.

Said albino watched him go before continuing on with that small evil grin he usually flashes before doing something he wouldn't regret later. It did not matter to him what anyone thought about the current situation. His mind had been made up long before the sorcerers called them in, and it sure as hell wasn't changing for those old farts.

*************

Miguel, Dalet, and Gatti nervously regarded their leader. They did not know the details, but rumor had it that their mission had been rescheduled--if not totally aborted--because of a certain danger. Something about demons rising with the moon…

"Do you know what I've been doing for the past quarter of an hour?" a calm voice inquired. The three dragonslayers sighed inwardly. This day was getting longer by the minute. 

Gatti braved a reply. "You were in a conference with Lord Folken and the elder sorcerers, Lord Dilandau."

"Good. It's nice to know SOMEONE'S been paying attention." he paused for effect before letting the other shoe fall (so to speak). "Be ready to leave in twelve minutes."

Though they had seen this coming, none of them were really prepared to hear it so bluntly.

Ignoring their shock, Dilandau continued, "I chose two of you for several reasons, but mainly because your guymelefs are, shall we say…ready to go. Gatti, I'll need you to cover for me. I just wanted you here so that you would know why." Seeing Dalet and Migules' poorly hidden worried glances, he quickly added, "Not that anything WILL happen that has not been planned on. I'm assuming you've heard something…"

"Well, my lord…some people are saying that since Gaea and its two moons are scheduled to align today at a certain time that it is…well…bad luck, to put it mildly, to do anything major until it's over."

"Compared to what I was told, that is an understatement," Dilandau laughed. "they were going on about dæ mons, specters, and madness!"

Miguel frowned slightly, "but, sir, isn't it said that what we're looking for not only belongs to a dæ mon, but is also guarded by a dragon that is not a dragon?"

"Don't tell me you BELIEVE that superstitious garbage."

"But don't the sorcerers take orders from--" a sharp look cut Gatti off.

Dilandau glared at all three of them, even though Dalet had yet to throw in his two cents. "A second reason I called you was because I thought you had more sense. I didn't expect my judgment to err."

"It hasn't!" Both Miguel and Gatti burst out. "Sir."

"We are all behind you, Lord Dilandau," Dalet added. 'Maybe not as far as we would like to be, but still.'

*************

Not too long after displaying their selfless devotion, they left the throne room to make their own preparations.

"Damn reverse-psychology," Dalet muttered. "I just hope we can pull this off."

"If those coordinates are correct, then you should be there and back in no time," Gatti ventured.

Dalet turned on him. "That's easy for you to say. All you have to do is make sure nothing blows up and no one drops dead while we're gone!"

"We are all a little uneasy about this as it is, since we're more-or-less disregarding orders," Miguel pointed out.

"That's just it. WE only take orders from Lord Dilandau," Gatti reminded them. "Do you need any help checking your systems?"

"No. We're halfway done, anyway," Dalet sighed. Clapping his hands, he straightened up. "Well, let's suit up so we can get this over with. The sooner, the better."


	4. Chapter II, part iii

Iii.

"I am SO glad that's over with," Artemis sighed, turning off the shower.

She must have been a bit too loud; Aimee answered, "Ditto. If we keep this up, we'll die from sheer exhaustion!"

"YOU'RE going to die if you used up all of my body wash," she threatened with a smile. "I think the entire locker room smells like vanilla!"

"I saved you half the bottle," said bottle came flying up and over the shower stall next to hers and she caught it before it smacked her in the head. "Great. Now one of my teammates is trying to kill me."

Somehow, she and the other girls managed to get dressed. The very match that could put them in the city finals was coming up in a few weeks. Ok, maybe two months--it did not matter to Coach Sera. They were having their best season--even better than the last one--but this just seemed to make their coach work them even harder. Two points was all that kept them from nationals the year before. It seemed as if all of them were going the extra mile this time, so at first no one really minded the addition of extra practice time--until they found out what the extra time was for.

"Ok, ladies, look alive!" Coach Sera shouted (despite that they were not as noisy as usual).

"Sir, yes, Sir!" the ones with energy to spare responded.

Coach sighed. "You'd think you girls would be too tired to mess around."

"What?! And break tradition?" Aimee appeared shocked.

"Perish the thought," Artemis agreed.

"Can we just sit around for this post-briefing?" the blond named Nina pleaded. Everyone else nodded their approval.

"You've all been working harder than ever, so you deserve a break, anyway. I was planning on taking you all to Tammy's for a treat, but you probably just want to go home and sleep…"

"Say WHAT?!"

"After at least an hour in the weight room besides our usual practice--"

"--you are SO not getting rid of us without some form of compensation!" The twins Mari and Kari often finished each others' sentences; this time, though, they spoke for the entire team, or at least the girls who didn't vocally add their own opinions.

Coach Sera held up a hand for silence. "All right, then. All in favor of gaining weight with a large sundae, on me, say "aye." Of course, you'll all owe me a few bucks if we don't win this--"

"AYE!!!"

"At this rate, we CAN'T lose!" someone exclaimed.

This bought on an enthusiastic cheer from everyone. Except:

"You know, for a star-member, you're pretty quiet, Artemis," the coach raised an eyebrow. "You ARE coming, right?"

"Nay," was her answer. "I'd rather go home and sleep for a few days. I still have to go to the mall, too. Besides, Vari's going to go postal when she finds out how many orders she's going to have to take!" Autumn took her school bag out of her locker along with her roller blades; to save an arm, she put it inside her gym bag. Her folded uniform went on top of this (more to protect her laptop than anything else), and she stuffed her sneakers in on the sides. She'd just walk around in socks until she got outside. "See you all later; don't get fat before the big match!"

"You're sure you're not coming, Autumn?" Aimee was disappointed.

"It's not like they'll draft you as soon as you show up," her coach joked.

Artemis shook her head. "I'm off this week. I need to get going before The Electronics Store closes, so I can pick up my camera. Adí os, everyone."

Amidst the girls' farewells, Coach Sera smiled. 'Her and that video camera. At least I can go home with a few dollars in my wallet!'

*************

Artemis barely made it to the shop before it closed. She didn't know how she would have lasted another day without her video camera. It had shorted out when she was loading some pictures into her home computer during a storm. Granted, it was not the smartest thing to do at the moment, but she had promised to send them to Hitomi ASAP. The computer itself was OK, since it was on a surge protector when the power went out, but her camera didn't even turn on afterwards. So, she sent the pictures to Hitomi the next day, then sent the camera to Zeke to see if he could fix it, which he did.

She waited until she was out of the store before kissing the silver, hand-held device. The sun was beginning to go down, turning the sky a dusky shade of orange. "Now for a test-run." Putting in a brand new disk, she flipped open the side-screen and turned on the camera. Seeing the green "on" light illuminated made her jump for joy; turning the screen itself on, she took off the lens cap and faced the shop with the camera. Zeke could be seen through the window, closing up for the night. "Behold! The picture of a hero!"

Laughing, she was spinning around in a circle (she still had on her roller blades) when a streak of light on the screen caught her attention.

"Woah!" Artemis turned in the direction she had seen the beam, but there was nothing there. Pausing, she kept staring at the sky in front of her while cars went by on the street to her right. She moved to the side of the sidewalk, still gazing, for a mother and her small son, who was sucking on a peppermint stick.

'That was near the school," she thought. 'It could have been a car's headlight, but that beam was vertical, not horizontal. Oh, man, if our school was zapped by a UFO, I didn't even have my camera on record!' "Rats." she muttered out loud. "It was probably a glare, anyway." Pushing up her glasses, Artemis skated towards the mall. Instead of going the long way, she decided to cut through the park. Which reminded her…

"Gotta put on my helmet. No elbow pads. ¡ Maldito sea! Oh, well, that cop at the park will get over it someday. Better put my camera away, though." she stopped shortly on the corner to dig through her gym bag and exchange the camcorder for the safety gear. Then she continued on her way.


	5. Chapter II, part iv

Iv.

To say the least, Miguel was getting pissed. They had spent the better part of an hour on what he was beginning to call a wild-goose chase. True, there was SOMETHING unusual in the area, because their navigation instruments were not working properly. In fact, before they had split up, he had discovered his compass kept spinning around counterclockwise. Both Lord Dilandau and Dalet reported theirs were the same.

Dilandau had then dragged the heel of his guymelef along the ground of the clearing, making a giant "X". "We'll meet here a little after the eclipse has started. If either of you find anything--or anything finds you--send some sort of signal that will not alert anyone else that we are here. I don't care what you use, as long as it is NOT a flare or insanely loud. Or, if you find the Key, return here and leave something showing your general direction if you cannot easily retrieve it on your own. And try not to wreck anything on this mission. The less noise, the better."

That was fifty minutes ago. Miguel had stopped his search to check the sky. Both of Gaea's moons were very close together. 'The Mystic Moon should eclipse the other in a few minutes, but the sun goes down at the same time. I'm heading back; hopefully Lord Dilandau or Dalet found at least a trace of the Key.' As Miguel began retracing his steps (it wasn't too difficult, since his 'melef left crushed undergrowth in its wake), his compass suddenly caught his eye. It STOPPED acting up and pointed northwest. He knew he was facing due north, because the setting sun was directly on his left and he also knew that the impeding eclipses could influence the magnetic field of the planet, but…they were rising in the EAST. Southeast, if he was not mistaken. There were only a few options left.

"I doubt this forest is haunted, so it's either the Key or a fairly large deposit of ores or energists. Either way, I refuse to go back empty handed." Full knowing that this was a bit bold on his part, he hurried off in the direction the needle indicated, changing course when necessary to avoid obstacles. He was confident enough that he was on to something big to not worry about letting the others know his position until he reached the source of the magnetism. If he at least came back with information, Lord Dilandau should forgive his hastiness.

His eagerness was rewarded, for he soon arrived in front of a cave. He didn't like leaving his guymelef, but he would not have a choice if he planned on entering. He would also miss the eclipse, which was due in a few minutes, but he needed all the light he could get before he went inside.

*************

She hadn't been hassled by the police officer, but she was still running a bit late; the mall closed a nine, but she had thirty minutes before the specialty shop inside shut its doors to the public.

Artemis checked her watch. 6:05 pm. "Ok, make that 25 minutes. I didn't want to do this, but I'm in a hurry." She took a detour off he path into the trees; next, she took off her skates and helmet, shoving them into her bag after pulling out her sneakers. She didn't bother untying the glow-in-the-dark laces before sliding them over her feet. Zipping up her bag, she scanned the area. There was no one around, so she got to work.

"Let's do this fast…" Standing up, she cleared her mind and began the warp-spell. Of course, since she wasn't paying attention, she completely missed the second beam of light shoot down on the other side of town.

*************

After concealing his Alseids, Miguel had double checked to make sure he had everything he needed before actually getting out and 'securing' the big mecha. He didn't turn on the invisibility mechanism because

A.) it would be very dark when he returned

and

B.) he did not feel like breaking his neck trying to get back in his invisible guymelef in the dark.

He'd mention a remote control or something to Lord Folken later on, just in case anyone else had or will have this sort of issue in the future. Taking out his glowstone--which he had enough foresight to recharge a few days ago--he headed into the cave with his other hand near his sword.

*************

"_Magic circle drawn in light, guide me to my destination_."

*************

The compass showed him the way deeper into the cave, always on a straight course despite the side-passages. The ceiling was high enough so that he could properly, and the corridor was wide enough for two. He also noticed a row of torches on his left suddenly blazed to life and a blue-life light in front of him drown out his own. 

*************

At precisely the same moment Artemis drew and completed a second circle within the larger one beneath her, the moon passed between Earth and Gaea, making both worlds a little unusual.

*************

Kaoré almost dropped the tray she was carrying when she felt the third surge of power. It seemed as if Autumn had used a warp spell, but the backlash created was from a gate summon with a trace of another power besides her friend's. 'What the hell is going on?'

" 'you OK, Vari?" Coach Sera inquired from the table in front of her. "You look a bit gray around the edges."

She felt dizzy, too, plus the earring in her right ear was resonating. "I…just have a headache. I need to sit for a little, that's all." She wasn't lying, either: that damn WAS giving her a headache. Actually, it started humming a bit earlier, twice in fact, but it had stopped after a few minutes each time. Now that she thought about it, she had also felt Hitomi's power--along with that same extra something--at the same time. 'This must be that feeling we all had earlier, but what happened? I hope they're all right. Especially you, Artemis. That backlash was huge…"

Kaoré served the other half of the gymnastics team and Coach Sera before flopping down on the nearest chair. Sighing, she placed her elbows on the table and her heard in her hands to wait out the tipsy feeling. 'As soon as this room stops spinning, I'm making a phone call.'

*************

Miguel's curiosity got the best of him (despite that he jumped ten feet in the air from the scene with the torches), and the light down the corridor light was fading as fast as it had come. After checking that his compass was secured around his neck, he ran towards the end of tunnel. Since the cave was now on a slight decline, he did not have exert much effort, besides trying not to tumble down head over heels. The light was soon dimmed to a dull glow, but gradually became brighter as he neared the source.

He slowed down when he heard the echo of his footsteps grow even more hollow, and he thought he could hear the steady trickle of water around the corner. 'Must be an underground river or lake.' Miguel put his glowstone away in a pouch at his waist. He didn't know what he would find in the chamber, but he would not be caught off guard.

Keeping his weapon within reach, he cautiously edged around the corner. He could see the reflection of water on the wall in front of him, but there were no other shadows. Of course, this did not mean that there was not anything there.

In fact, Miguel had a sudden vision of a dæ mon jumping out at him and tearing out his heart…

'Get a hold of yourself. There's no such thing as dæ mons. This mission is too important to chicken out on or to become irrational, and Lord Dilandau…well…I don't even want to THINK about what will happen if he knew I panicked. Which I will NOT do.' He drew his sword and entered the cavern.


End file.
